Seabrook is a haven for misfits, where the natural and the supernatural coexist in harmony.
It wasn’t always that way: The perfectly planned community fell completely to pieces when an accident with the city’s clean energy source turned some of the population to zombies. That caused some issues, as you might imagine (chronicled in the original Zombies movie), but now technology allows the zombies to live normal lives. Werewolves, who get their power from that original clean energy source, also live with humans in peace.
Seabrook is back on its way to becoming that perfect community again, but some progress still needs to be made. Zombies are now trying to get access to college, and the likeable zombie Zed is on the verge of earning a football scholarship, which could throw open the doors.
But Zed’s push for that scholarship is interrupted when aliens descend into town in the middle of a football game. What do they want? To join the school’s cheer team, apparently. Now the town must learn another important lesson about respecting people who are different as they struggle to interact with the town’s newest guests.
Disney’s Zombies movies have always been about acceptance and tolerance, and Zombies 3 fits right in.
Addison (Zed’s kindly girlfriend) says that she wants the cheer team to win based on love for each other rather than hate for others. The aliens say that they are a completely united people who strive for peace and harmony in all they do.
All of the characters strive to support each other through their difficulties. Addison makes a particularly sacrificial decision to help people at great personal cost toward the end of the movie. The end of the story concludes that conflict can lead to the betterment of society and healthier relationships. The theme of acceptance and belonging for everyone would be fantastic—if the movie didn’t distort it. (More on that soon.)
The characters note that the happenings in the town are supernatural. Both zombies and werewolves seem to be what they are because of Seabrook’s moon stones, the town’s power source, but how those stones created these “monsters” is unclear. Nothing is exactly spiritualized, but UFOs and special powers are a part of the story.
Most of the romantic content between the main characters is mild and sweet. Zed and Addison hug a few times and kiss twice at the end. They want to go to college together, and viewers hear them sing and talk romantically with each other.
The aliens are unfamiliar with all these touchy-feely emotions, and they essentially imbue themselves with them to fit in on earth. But learning how to deal with those emotions takes time. An alien (who is assumed to be non-binary based on the use of the pronouns them/they in conversation) is romantically attracted to Zed and says it is “wonderful” that Addison also loves him, suggesting that the alien doesn’t understand the concept of monogamy. Other characters explain to this alien that love must be controlled: Addison acknowledges that you can’t really control how you feel, but that doesn’t change the fact that she and Zed are committed to each other … and the alien will just have to deal with those feelings. Later, a female werewolf winks at the non-binary character. They hold hands and sing romantically to each other in the closing scene.
There are many scenes of cheerleaders dancing together, but the outfits are reasonably modest, and the moves are clean.
The opening includes cartoon fighting between zombies, werewolves and humans. The werewolves drink something gross called beef and blood. Zombies drink something that is intended to be a substitute for brains. The werewolves howl and take up a fighting stance frequently. Chaos and destruction ensue when the alien ship comes down, which causes lots of property damage.
The werewolves sing an intense song about hunting the aliens.
Zed tells another character that the head werewolf “wants to rip your heart out.” A character is electrocuted several times and turns into a zombie from the pain.
None.
None.
The aliens speak harshly to their “mother ship” (voiced by drag star RuPaul of all people), and the interaction seems intended to mirror an unhealthy parental relationship. They start speaking more politely to it in the end.
The aliens are arrogant and selfish throughout the movie, as is Bucky, Addison’s bold human cousin. The aliens lie a few times, Zed and Addison dance through a dangerous construction zone and then an arrow range with people actively shooting arrows.
One character rudely comments on someone’s nose job.
Addison lies to help the aliens, and it is revealed that her mom lied about her parentage a few times.
Zombies 3’s music and dance moves are fun and flamboyant, and the film itself offers High School Musical type fun. And like those films, the Zombies movies have some lessons in mind: Here they’re meant to teach kids about the value of diversity and embracing people who are different from you. The zombies in the first film face many difficulties that mirror African American history, and the werewolves deal with situations familiar to America’s indigenous peoples.
This new chapter seems to bring with it an issue with a hotter button, though, with the aliens loosely representative of undocumented immigrants. But this connection is not obvious without the context of the other two movies.
There’s a lot to like about Zombies 3. musical aspects are eye-catching, and the jokes are clean. Teaching kids about valuing a person based on their heart rather than their appearance is great. But the movie’s creators don’t stop there. Subtle and direct references to LGBT themes are incorporated into the dialogue. A character is represented as non-binary (though it is not stated outright) and shows attraction to both males and females. Zombies 3 is a clear example of the trend in Disney movies to expose kids to a worldview that is contrary to the teaching of the Bible.
